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63rd Annual MLSA Conference – Restoration is Possible

Friday, April 26 & Saturday, April 27, 2024

Agenda and Slide Decks

Download the Official 2024 Annual Conference Program

Access presentation slides here: 2024 Session Slide Folder

Location

VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center in Muskegon, MI – Explore Muskegon

Event Sponsors

Special Sponsorships from:

     

Platinum:

                       

Gold:

Silver:

              

                      

Friday Agenda

7:30AM – Registration opens

7:30AM to 8:30AM – Hot Breakfast Buffet – Eggs, Bacon, French Toast, Oatmeal

8:00AM to 9:00AMMLSA and MiCorps Welcome and Legislative Update with Rep. Julie Rogers

9:00AM to 5:00PM – MiCorps Training

9:00AM to 10:00AM – Panel on Septic Regulation in Michigan with Rep. Skaggs and Rep. Rheingans

10:30AM to Noon – Morning Break-outs – 3 options

  • Wild Rice Restoration Partnerships
  • Phosphorus and HABs on Mona Lake
  • Agriculture and Water

Noon to 1:00pm – Lunch and Raffle

1:30PM to 3:00PM – Afternoon Break-outs – 3 options

  • Wake Boats and Boating Safety
  • Aquatic Plant Surveys and non-chemical Eurasian Watermilfoil control
  • Dowagiac River Restoration

3:30PM to 5:00PM – Afternoon Break-outs – 3 options

  • Waterfowl Control and the Raptor Watch Program
  • Aquatic Invasive Species: Hydrilla, European Frogbit, and Didymo
  • Shoreline Habitat Improvement

5:00PM to 6:00PM – Happy Hour and Raffle
Awards Presentation
Riparian of the Year Award – Pat Wolters, Crockery Lake
Scholarship Award – Jennifer Burfield

6:00PM to 7:00PM – Dinner Served

7:00PM – Riparian Rights Q&A with Attorney Cliff Bloom

Saturday Agenda

7:00AM – Registration opens

7:30AM to 8:30AM – Hot Breakfast Buffet and Raffle
Breakfast with Cliff: Riparian Rights Update with Attorney Cliff Bloom

9:00AM to 10:00AM – Saturday Keynote Speaker: A Discussion with Author, Dan Egan
Dan Egan for many years covered the Great Lakes for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Now he writes occasional long-form pieces about climate change for national media outlets, including the New York Times, and is a senior water policy fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences. He is the author of THE DEVIL’S ELEMENT: PHOSPHORUS AND A WORLD OUT OF BALANCE and the New York Times best seller THE DEATH AND LIFE OF THE GREAT LAKES. Twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, he has won the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, John B. Oakes Award, AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, and J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, he lives in Milwaukee with his wife and children.

10:00AM to 11:00AM – Longer morning break for Dan Egan book signing and room check out. Dan’s books will be available for purchase at our event!

10:30AM to 12:30PM – Aquatic Plant ID with MiCorps CLMP open to all attendees

11AM to 12:30PM – Morning Break-outs – 2 options and field trip

  • Building Capacity to fight AIS and Arctic Grayling Initiative
  • Association Best Practices
  • Field Trip – 11AM departure: Join the crew of the Jackson for a boat trip on Muskegon Lake and out to Lake Michigan. There will be a stop at a water monitoring station on the way too. This trip will be approximately 1.5 hours. Vessel details available here.

12:30PM – Lunch and Raffle

1:30PM to 2:30PM – MiCorps CLMP Training: Aquatic Plant Mapping

1:30PM to 3:00PM – Afternoon Break-outs – 3 options and field trip

  • GVSU Student Reports
  • HABs 101 and MI Paddle Stewards
  • Stormwater Treatment Train
  • Field Trip – 1:30PM departure: Join the crew of the Jackson for a boat trip on Muskegon Lake and out to Lake Michigan. There will be a stop at a water monitoring station on the way too. This trip will be approximately 1.5 hours. Vessel details available here.

Nonprofit Exhibitors